The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday issued the ninth summons to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before it on March 21 in the Delhi liquor policy case, reported The Indian Express.
On Saturday, the central agency also summoned Kejriwal in the Delhi Jal Board money laundering case. The Delhi chief minister has been asked to join the investigation on March 18. The Delhi Jal Board case pertains to the alleged illegal tendering and laundering of proceeds of crime.
On February 6, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at the homes of persons associated with the Aam Aadmi Party in connection with the case. Those who were raided included Kejriwal’s secretary Bibhav Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP and party treasurer ND Gupta. Locations linked to former Delhi Jal Board member Shalabh Kumar were also raided.
However, the details of the case have not been disclosed.
The summons came hours after a Delhi court granted bail to Kejriwal on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate after the Aam Aadmi Party leader skipped eight summons issued to him.
On Sunday, Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi said that the Delhi Jal Board investigation is “another fake case” created to arrest Kejriwal before the Lok Sabha elections.
“Even we want to know what is the investigation about in this case,” Atishi said at a press conference. “They [central agencies] could not do anything in the previous matter, so they have opened new proceedings against him.”
The Delhi education minister also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government of attempting to disrupt the Opposition from campaigning for the polls. Atishi described the central agency officials as “hooligans working for the BJP to harass the Opposition”.
She said that the BJP government could not wait for the court’s decision and sent two summons to Kejriwal hours after he was granted bail.
“What kind of hooliganism is this,” she asked. “Today, the ED and CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] are acting like [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi ji’s hooligans.”
On Saturday, Kejriwal physically appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court as instructed by the court on two occasions. The additional chief metropolitan magistrate asked Kejriwal to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15,000 and a security bond of Rs 1 lakh for his release on bail.
The Enforcement Directorate had filed its first plea in the matter before the Rouse Avenue Court on February 3, after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons issued to him. Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party have said that the summons are “illegal” and “politically motivated”.
What is the liquor policy case?
The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor excise policy, which has been scrapped.
The policy came into effect in November 2021. It was withdrawn on July 30, 2022, with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending an investigation into the alleged irregularities of the policy.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s liquor excise policy to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.
The Enforcement Directorate has also claimed that members of a so-called South Group had paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair, who is currently in jail.
Two senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are also currently in jail in connection with the case.
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